Skirt spreader for garment shaping machines



Oct. 14, 1941. J. R. FITZGERALD 2,259,370

SKIRT SPREADER FOR GARMENT SHAPING MACHINES Filed March 10, 1941 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS WITNESS Patented Oct. 14, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE SKIRT SPREADER FOR GARMENT SHAPING MACHINES 1 Claim.

This invention relates to skirt spreaders for garment shaping machines of the type, for example, disclosed in my prior application for patent on Garment stretchers, filed January 31, 1940, Serial No. 316,670, and may be considered as an improvement thereupon.

Many dresses which are cleaned and later formed on a garment stretcher are cut with a circular or flared skirt. Unless the bottom of such a dress is held in taut position while the steam is passed through the machine, the bottom of the dress will retain an unfinished appearance when compared with the upper portion of the, garment which has been stretched in finishing on the machine.

With the above in mind, the present invention provides slidable members which will retain the flexible side stretching bars of the garment stretcher in position to hold the bottom of the skirt taut, the sliding members retaining the flexible side stretching bars in adjusted relation for each individual dress to compensate for the difference in sizes found in different garments, so that by thus holding the skirt taut while finishing with steam, the lower skirt portion will have the same finished appearance as the upper portion, regardless of the extent of fullness in the bottom of the skirt.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will be formed of a few strong, simple and durable parts, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional View of a garment shaping machine taken on the line of Figure 3, with portions removed, showing the skirt spreaders applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the skirt spreaders and support therefor, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of a garment shaping machine equipped with skirt spreaders constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various Views, designates the pole, II the flexible side stretching bars, l2 the lazy tongs, l3 the flexible conduit for steam, and M the skeleton frame supporting the open top of the flexible conduit for steam, the skeleton frame being adjustable longitudinally of the pole by an adjusting screw l5, these parts being conventional in garment stretchers used in the dry cleaning art.

In carrying out the invention, a pair of skirt spreaders are secured to the frame l4, each comprising an arm I 6 having a vertically disposed leg IT at the inner end which extends downward from the respective end cross bar l8 of the frame l4 and is secured at the top to the cross bar by a bolt l9 or other connector. The arm |6 inclines upwardly and outwardly from the bottom of the leg H, see Figure 2.

Adjustably mounted on the arm is a spring clip comprising diverging resilient members 20 and 2| secured together at one end by a rivet 22 or other connector. The members 20 and 2|, as well as the arm I6 and leg I! thereof, are formed of strap metal.

The resilient members 20 and 2| of the spring clip are provided with openings 23 and 24, see Figure 2, through which the arm l6 passes to permit the spring clip to be adjusted longitudinally of the arm l6. By grasping the members 20 and 2| of the spring clip between the fingers of the hand the members may be moved toward each other to permit the spring clip being slid longitudinally of the arm It. When pressure of the fingers of the hand is released, the members 20 and 2| spring outwardly from each other so that the edges of the openings frictionally engage the arm l6 and adjustably secure the spring clip to the arm with wedge action.

When the spring clips are slid outwardly on the arms |6 they engage and spread the respective flexible side stretching bars outwardly from the pole I0 to engage the bottom of the skirt and hold the bottom of the skirt taut while the steam is passed through the machine.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

In a garment shaping machine having a frame and flexible side stretching bars, a pair of arms carried by the frame extending toward the stretching bars, and clips having resilient diverging members provided with openings receiving respective arms and frictionally held by the walls of the openings in adjusted positions longitudinally of the arms and engaging the bottom portions of the stretching bars to spread the bars apart and hold taut skirts of various diameters at the bottom.

JOHN R. FITZGERALD. 

